The odd couple

I hope you are not getting sick of the feel good stuff, because I have another excellent story to tell you.

Sulaiman, a Palestinian, and Gadi, an Israeli, met while they were both travelling in the U.S. A common friend forced them to meet, against their will. They started talking, which turned into arguing, quickly transformed into fighting, until one day they started to laugh. It took a few years, but finally they built up trust, and started working together.

Now, they want peace. "Nu," you must be saying, "so vot's new? Ma nishtana halayla haze mikol haleylot?" (What makes this night different from all other nights?)

Call them crazy, but Gadi and Sulaiman really believe peace is possible. And they do not just talk about it. They feel it and they act it. I wish you could all be here with me to bear witness, to feel their energy. It is so amazing to be in their presence, not crazy lefties, but mainstream guys, who are prepared to fight for peace at all costs.

Gadi and Sulaiman are not interested in preaching to the converted. The right wing is their target group. They call themselves "social entrepreneurs." I think "the odd couple" seems more fitting.

Two years ago, an ex-chief warden of one of the most notorious Israeli prisons in the West Bank, approached Gadi and asked him to organise a meeting with ex-Palestinian prisoners. The ex-chief warden had discussed the idea with ten other Israelis, all wounded while serving in the army.

Gadi immediately called Sulaiman and asked if he could organise the Palestinian side. Sulaiman had spent ten years in prison over fifteen years ago, for attempting to kill two Israeli soldiers. He is well-connected to the ex-prisoner community in the West Bank. He convinced ten Palestinians, wounded either from before or during their time in prison, to meet the Israelis.

The group now meets regularly. They have also met in Bosnia and Switzerland. Two years on, and the dialogue has survived, with many wild and wonderful stories to share (for another time).

Gadi and Sulaiman are a peace process in the making; never abandoning their own but determined to live in peace with each other. This odd couple has achieved a delicate but powerful balance; and they have managed to attract the most unlikely and hardcore characters on their peace mission. Now, that is what I call the real deal!

21 days to go....